Protecting Whistle-Blowers, and the Public Interest

Published: December 6, 2005

To the Editor:

As a former whistle-blower, I read articles like ''All the President's Flacks,'' by Frank Rich (column, Dec. 4), with trepidation.

Whistle-blowers, who risk their livelihood to expose government or corporate corruption, need and depend on the press to shield them from the harsh retribution of the powerful parties whose corruption they have exposed. And the public is generally more than willing to support such protection.

But when reporters give the same protection to major government figures, who are merely using the press to spin the government's mendacious agenda, they undermine the public's willingness to give the benefit of the doubt to reporters who claim First Amendment rights to protect their sources. As a result, whistle-blower protection is compromised.

But it is not the whistle-blower who needs protection so much as it is the public that needs the protection of the whistle-blower. Reporters who cannot tell the difference between a true whistle-blower and an under-the-table government handout are undermining that protection.